This invention relates to an attachment for and an improvement in conventional golf ball retrievers for recovering golf balls which are inaccessible because of their location in deep water or other hazard.
It is well-known that golf balls are frequently driven into inaccessible places, such as water hazards on a golf course. In order to retrieve his ball, the golfer currently employs a device readily available, which consists of a tube on the end of a telescoping handle. As presently designed, the tube consists of a band having diverging openings on each side. That is, the inside surface of the tube comprises a pair of axially aligned frusto cones, with the larger diameter of each being at the outside of the opening. Such outside diameter is somewhat larger than the diameter of a golf ball, with the center of the tube, where the frusto cones meet, having a smaller diameter. When the ball is visible in a water or other hazard, it can be easily retrieved by simply placing the tube over the ball and removing it. In water, the tube appears to function as if it were a suction cup in that the buoyancy of the ball causes it to lodge easily in either of the frusto cones, and it does not easily become dislodged.
The problem with the prior art device is that it is most useful only when the golf ball is visible to the player. If the water is murky, or very deep so that the ball cannot be seen, it cannot be easily located or recovered. One such prior art device is disclosed in the Chuan patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,125 of Apr. 21, 1987.